Bravo Zulu Award

The Vikki L. Stempkowski Memorial
Bravo Zulu Award

About the Award

The Bravo Zulu award is given to someone for their outstanding contribution to the Certification Commission and the Certification Program, as judged by fellow Commissioners.

“Bravo Zulu” is a Naval signal, conveyed by flag-hoist or voice radio, meaning “well done;” it has also passed into the spoken and written vocabulary.

There are some myths and legends attached to this signal. The one most frequently heard has Admiral “Bull” Halsey sending it to ships of Task Force 38 during World War II. Bravo Zulu actually comes from the Allied Naval Signal Book (ATP1 Vol 1 series), an international naval signal code adopted after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949.

World War II experience had shown that it was difficult, or even impossible, for ships of different navies to operate together unless they could readily communicate, and ACP 175 was designed to remedy this. ACP 175 was organized in the general manner of other signal books, that is, starting with one-flag signals, then two-flag signals, and so on. The two-flag signals were organized by general subject, starting with AA, AB, AC ... AZ, BA, BB, BC ... BZ, and so on. The last signal on the “administrative” page was BZ, standing for “well done.”

Past Award Recipients

2008: Billy Zwerschke, CEM

2009: Vikki L. Stempkowski, CEM

2010: Daryl L .Spiewak, CEM

2011: Brian Bovyn, CEM

2012: Jeff Jellets, CEM

2013: Dean Larson, CEM

2014: Lanita Lloyd, CEM

2015: Martin Boyle, CEM

2016: Christian Lanphere, CEM

2016: Jennifer Smysnuik, CEM

2017: Amy Ramirez, CEM

2018: Keith Dowler, CEM

AEM® and CEM® and are registered trademarks of the International Association of Emergency Managers.

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting the "Principles of Emergency Management" and representing those professionals whose goals are saving lives and protecting property and the environment during emergencies and disasters.